Chapter47-Tarot School

"I know you're anxious, but calm down first!"

Among the two young women, the elder one shook her head helplessly as she looked at her younger sister, who was puffing her cheeks out in frustration like a goldfish.

"I've already scouted things out," Helen continued patiently. "There's a bandit gang operating nearby, specializing in robbery and plundering. The government has issued a bounty for their extermination. If we take them down, we can claim the reward!"

"Bounty?!"

Upon hearing that word, Doria's eyes immediately sparkled with excitement.

"I want the bounty! I want the bounty! With the reward money, we can buy so many delicious things—jam-filled bread, roasted meat, grilled lamb legs..."

As she spoke, Doria practically started drooling at the thought.

However, remembering how unreliable her sister usually was, her enthusiasm quickly deflated like a pierced balloon.

She pouted and asked doubtfully,

"Sis, are you sure there really are bandits this time?"

Helen had made similar claims before, getting Doria all excited, only for them to find nothing in the end.

Honestly, had she known how unreliable her sister could be, she would never have agreed to travel across the continent with her.

Instead of experiencing the "poetry and distant lands" she'd dreamed of, she was drinking cold wind and starving in the wilderness.

"Trust me this time, absolutely no mistake!"

Feeling embarrassed by her sister's doubt, Helen patted her chest firmly, vowing with full confidence.

While the two sisters were talking, they suddenly noticed a young man swinging an iron sword, walking toward them from a distance.

The moment Doria spotted the young man, her attention was instantly drawn to him.

Then, as if recalling something, she hurriedly tugged at Helen's sleeve.

"Sis, sis, look over there!"

Helen, still occupied with her tarot cards, impatiently waved her off,

"Don't bother me. I'm divining with the tarot cards right now!"

Doria, anxious, insisted,

"Don't you think he looks familiar? I think... he looks like the person on the Association Alliance's wanted poster!"

Hearing that, Helen immediately looked up.

She quickly pulled out a stack of wanted posters from her coat and flipped through them for a moment, finally taking out one particular sheet.

Comparing the portrait on the poster to the young man in the distance—

there was an unmistakable resemblance.

Alongside the portrait, there was also a brief description:

"This individual is estimated to be around Silver Rank strength.

Suspected member of a cult.

Methods are extremely brutal; morals utterly depraved.

He led a group of criminals to behead the City Lord of Whitespire and massacre government officials.

His crimes are too numerous to count.

Reward: 5,000 silver coins."

Because the bounty was so high, it had attracted considerable attention.

After all, a Silver Rank Awakener was considered little threat to many—

defeating such a person should have been as easy as slaughtering chickens!

The only reason the bounty remained unclaimed until now was because no one had yet found his whereabouts.

"That's him! That's him!"

Doria's voice trembled with excitement.

"If we capture him, we'll have food security forever!"

"It really does seem like him. Let's go, follow him!"

Helen didn't hesitate either. She immediately took her sister and began tailing John.

She herself was a Gold Rank Awakener, while Doria had reached Silver Rank.

Although the target was labeled dangerous and ruthless, he was still just Silver Rank!

Moreover, within the same rank, both sisters were considered among the elite, well-known across the Association.

As long as they didn't give the target time to set traps, they were confident they could take him down cleanly.

Surely, this man was a blessing sent from heaven just for them!

A short while later—

John, walking casually down the road, suddenly stopped and turned his head, his gaze locking onto the two girls following him.

The moment John turned, both sisters became visibly flustered.

One pretended to be fiddling with a piece of wild grass; the other nervously wrung her hands, pretending to be innocent passersby.

Seeing their awkward behavior, John shook his head slightly.

Although he didn't know exactly why they were following him, it was clear that this was a remote mountainous area—

an ideal hunting ground for bandits and murderers.

For two finely dressed girls like them to appear here without bodyguards or escorts was downright suspicious.

"They must be Awakeners," John murmured to himself.

"Otherwise, they wouldn't dare wander around here alone."

Still, there was something about their clear, slightly naïve eyes that gave John a strong impression of... stupidity.

They didn't seem particularly cunning or threatening.

Thus, John decided to ignore them, turning back around and continuing down the path at his own leisurely pace.

Seeing John move forward, the two sisters breathed a sigh of relief.

They thought they had hidden their intentions perfectly and immediately resumed following him.

However, they had barely followed for a few steps when John suddenly stopped again.

The sisters froze, exchanging quick glances while pretending to be casual.

John, seizing this momentary distraction, burst into sudden motion—

his body blurring into a sprint, rapidly pulling away from them at shocking speed.

Startled, the two girls hurried after him, breaking into a run.

The more devious John acted, the more convinced they were that he was indeed the 5,000 silver coin fugitive!

They absolutely could not let him escape!

Yet despite their best efforts, John's physique far outclassed theirs.

Even without specialized speed-enhancing skills, his explosive muscular power quickly created an unbridgeable gap between them.

Every step he took left deep footprints in the ground,

like a wild rabbit in full flight.

Meanwhile, the sisters could only eat his dust, helplessly watching the bounty slip farther and farther away.

"I can't... breathe anymore!"

Doria gasped after barely running for a few minutes, finally stopping and doubling over, panting desperately.

Helen was slightly better off due to her higher rank, but she too was breathing heavily.

Gritting her teeth, she hastily summoned her tarot cards, spinning them around her body in an attempt to divine John's location.

However—

the cards merely circled around her in confusion, unable to lock onto any specific direction.

"What's going on?

Even the tarot can't track him?!"

Helen stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Seeing her sister's helpless state, Doria wiped the sweat from her smooth forehead and thought bitterly to herself:

If I'd known it would be like this, I never would have come adventuring with her...

Tarot School—a unique faction that had always hidden itself away from the broader world.

Their creed was simple:

Be kind to others, never make enemies, live in harmony.

They maintained friendly relations with all major forces,

earning a reputation akin to a harmless old neighbor—

always focusing on the study of destiny,

never getting involved in the struggles of the outside world.

However, today—

under the once-clear blue sky,

dark storm clouds suddenly gathered overhead.

Terrifying thunder rumbled across the heavens,

sending a suffocating sense of dread cascading down upon the people below.

"Who has broken the rules of our school?

Who has dared to provoke such a horrifying enemy?!"

A voice filled with anger and confusion echoed throughout the Tarot School.